Preserving relationships;

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ATLANTA PORTLAND
BALTIMORE
BIRMINGHAM
BOSTON HASKINS & S E L LS PROVIDENCE
SAINT LOUIS
SALT LAKE CITY
CBHUAFFRALLOOT TE SAN DIEGO
CHICAGO CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS SAN FRANCISCO
SEATTLE
CINCINNATI TULSA
CLEVELAND WATERTOWN
DALLAS
DENVER BULLETIN DETROIT BERLIN
JACKSONVILLE LONDON
KANSAS CITY MANILA
LOS ANGELES PARIS
MINNEAPOLIS SHANGHAI
NEWARK
NEW ORLEANS EXECUTIVE OFFICES
NEW YORK 15 BROAD STREET. NEW YORK HAVANA
PHILADELPHIA MEXICO CITY
PITTSBURGH MONTREAL
VOL. X I NEW YORK, OCTOBER, 1928 No. 10
T I M E , it has been said, heals all wounds.
time has been credited and charged
innumerable other good and bad qualities.
But the lapse of time which results in
softening the effect of unpleasant experi­ences
also carries with it the gradual dim­ming
of recollections growing out of things
enjoyable and satisfactory.
The practice of accountancy, built as
it is on good-will and personal contacts,
must reckon with the changes which are
wrought by time. Mr. Smith, an erst­while
client, may have his wrath over
some piece of work executed to his dis­satisfaction
softened by the passing of
years and the intervening myriads of
events in his life. Jones, likewise erstwhile,
may carry in his memory only the kindliest
recollections of work well done, and satis­faction
rendered, and yet never think, or
find it within his power, to reward that
service by further employment or recom­mendation.
The Smiths and the Joneses come and
go, for various reasons. They come, be­cause
of the firm's reputation, their ac­quaintanceship
with various members of
the firm or of the organization, or the
firm's ability to serve them because of
geographical spread, or because of the
recommendation of some good friend or
satisfied client. They go, because of
changes in corporation affiliations or owner­ship,
of changes in their requirements, of
death, of a taste for change, of dissatis­faction.
It is inconceivable that the Smiths and
Joneses keep their attention fixed on the
accountants who serve them now, or who
have served them in the past. It is too
much to ask that they carry the burden of
keeping contact with those who verify
their accounts, or have put together for
them in the past some report on which
they planned and executed certain financial
undertakings.
The burden of preserving relationships
belongs to the accountants. It need not
take the form of solicitation. It should
grow out of periodic reviews of contacts,
particularly those which have ceased to
exist. If a former client no longer is being
served, there is a reason. Until the
reason is known, the risk exists that the
discontinuance was due to dissatisfaction.
The loss of a client through dissatisfaction
which might be rectified is inexcusable.
The reclaiming of a client through re­moval
of dissatisfaction is worth as much
as, if not more, in the matter of good-will,
than a client who continues on from year
to year because he is satisfied.
Preserving Relationships